It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at the Paper Players. Thank you to everyone who played along with my challenge last week - your entries were awesome! This week it is the turn of the super talented Sandy and she has a fun colour challenge for us:

With the 4th of July not far away, there are lots of patriotic themed cards floating about the internet. Thought of American independence and the stars on this week's badge inspired me to create my card this week:

I chose to use the Congrats! stamp from the 'Bravo!' stamp set as my focal sentiment, stamped in Island Indigo onto my Pool Party base, and die cut some stars around it using my Big shot and Stars framelits to decorate. I used a couple of snippets of retired DSP behind the negative space (the indigo stripes are from the 'All Abloom' pack and the red stripes from the 'Fresh Prints' DSP stack) and popped some stars up on dimensionals for a little extra lift. A red glimmer star punched with my Itty Bitty star punch and a single rhinestone finish my card. 

This card is ready for one of my lovely team who is close to promoting this month; I am willing her to get there so am thinking positively and I know I'll be sending this out real soon. I'm also linking up to SUO Challenges where the challenge is appropriately 'stars and stripes'. Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing your colourful creations in the gallery this week. I'm off to begin a couple of days of birthday celebrations - we are starting early and making the most of it - after all, you're only 10 once!

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set	Stars Framelits Dies	Magnetic Platform	Big Shot	Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Island Indigo A4 Cardstock	Real Red A4 Cardstock	Pool Party A4 Cardstock	Red Glimmer Paper

Having had a busy start to my week with two technique classes and my monthly Project Life Class, I am finally back with my blog today to share with you one of the cards we made in my technique class. The class featured the now retired set 'Painted Petals' from the Spring-Summer Seasonal catalogue; the ladies that attend my classes were so keen to have a class using this set that we decided we would carry it over into June. Here is one of the cards we made:

A beautifully bright and cheery card in Daffodil Delight and Blackberry Bliss. We used some retired All Abloom DSP matted on Blackberry Bliss, alongside a panel of Blackberry Bliss that we embossed with the Spring Flowers embossing folder (also retired), then mounted our panel of Whisper White stamped with the double flower image in Blackberry Bliss and Mossy Meadow (the yellow flower centres were added with a Crushed Curry Stampin' Write marker). To finish we added the sentiment, punched out with a large oval punch and mounted on a piece of yellow cut with the Decorative Label punch. This was our 'finishing up' card, having made a rather more complicated box card beforehand (one to share another day!).

Next month's technique class is featuring the gorgeous new stamp set 'You've Got This'. If you would like to join with me and two groups of the nicest people you could wish to know, do get in touch for more details and to book your place.

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with a card for our new challenge over at Create With Connie And Mary. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Marker	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Blackberry Bliss A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight A4 Cardstock
Decorative Label Punch	Extra-Large Oval Punch

It's Sunday - my favourite day of the week and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players. I loved the variety of the transportation-themed cards in the gallery last week. This week, the lovely LeAnne has an interesting colour challenge for you to play along with: 

I'm also playing along with the TGIF Challenge this week as I've used their sketch as the inspiration for my layout this week. So I deliberately used the word 'interesting' for LeAnne's choice of colours this week - this colour combo had me stumped for a good long while! Then I remembered the piece of Lost Lagoon and Pistachio Pudding patterned DSP in the All Abloom paper stack; I think it's the only piece I've never used (and I've been through a few packs!) as I prefer the pattern on the reverse,so I decided to challenge myself to see if I could make it work on today's card. Here is my finished card:

I used Sahara Sand for my base and a mat of Lost Lagoon, then went all out and covered the entire card front with my DSP. This is such a busy pattern, I knew I would have to be careful what else I used on my card to avoid it looking too busy. For my focal point, I chose to stamp one of the silhouette flower stamps in Pistachio Pudding on a circle in the same colour - the paper pattern reminded me of this set - and stamp the sentiment over the top in Lost Lagoon. I mounted this on a slightly larger circle of Lost Lagoon and then a piece of Sahara Sand cut with my Big Shot and a Deco Label framelit. I mounted this on a banner of Sahara Sand that I added a little lace trim to in the same colour - something for a little texture and interest, but not wanting to clash with the strong pattern. Lastly, I added a piece of Lost Lagoon ribbon that I ruched across the front of the card. 

This isn't my usual type of card, but I quite like it. The Sahara Sand does a great job of toning down the pattern and also meant I didn't use any Whisper White cardstock at all, which is quite unusual, not even for my sentiment panel. The thing that pleases me most though - I actually managed to use the sheet of patterned paper effectively!

Before you reach for your paper and inks, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

I look forward to seeing how you interpret this week's colour palette. I'm off to finish the preparation for my technique classes this week and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

World Of Dreams Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Circles Collection Framelits Dies	Banners Framelits Dies	Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies	Big Shot Magnetic Platform
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Sahara Sand A4 Card Stock	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Lost Lagoon 3/8" Satin Stitched Ribbon
Sahara Sand 7/8" (2.2 Cm) Lace Trim

Happy Monday everyone! No card today - I'm sharing a little 3D project for a change. Last week I was booked to craft with a local Brownie pack to help them make gifts for Mother's Day. I know a few of the Brownies - and mums! - so couldn't share our little project until today, for fear of letting their secret out of the bag. Now we all know that with a special gift it's as much about the packaging as what's inside, so this is what our gifts looked like from the outside:

Each girl had one of the Tiny Treat Boxes to decorate with papers from the All Aboom DSP stack - so pretty for spring - and one covered, each box was finished with a colour-co-ordinated bow made using the Bow Builder punch. We had great fun making these - and used hundreds of glue dots in the process!! Inside the box, it opened to reveal:

Each of them made a delicate silver necklace using one of the Simply Borrowed Embellishments for decoration, beautifully presented on a co-ordinated cardstock insert. How pretty is that? The girls were so pleased with their handiwork and all smuggled them home to keep them as a surprise until yesterday. I had lots of messages from mums today who were thrilled with their gifts, so I think we can safely say it was a job well done!

I love crafting with children, whether my own, when running children's birthday parties or in larger groups such as this. If you live in or around Northampton and would like more information about children's parties or running a Crafty Owl activity for a larger group such as a Brownie or Girl Guide group, then do get in touch - I would love to discuss options with you.

That's all from me today; back tomorrow with a card for you. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Bow Builder Punch	All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Tiny Treat Boxes	Something Borrowed Embellishments	Mini Glue Dots
Island Indigo A4 Card Stock	So Saffron A4 Card Stock

Finally time for today's creative post! I was fortunate enough to be selected as the 'Top Pick' over at the As You See It Challenge last week - thank you ladies! - for this card here. Today I'm entering a card for this week's challenge which is another sketch-based one - you know how I love a good sketch:

I was keen to interpret the ring in the sketch as a wreath in some way and since I had some leftover burlap on my desk from another project that I am currently working on, I knew which direction I wanted to go. My thoughts are definitely on Spring this week - here is my interpretation of the sketch: 

I started with a base of Lost Lagoon then added a piece of All Abloom DSP down the side. I overlapped this with a piece of So Saffron and added a Pistachio Pudding panel across the horizontal, that I pierced around the edge to add interest. To create my spring wreath, I used a few strands of burlap that I stripped from a length and tied it together at three points around the edge to hold everything together. To decorate, I added a few springs of leaves in Mossy Meadow punched from my bird punch, then punched my bird itself in Lost Lagoon. I added an eye with a Basic Grey marker and I punched his wing out of a snippet of All Abloom paper in a different stack design. I added a sentiment banner that I stamped using the Crazy About You' stamp set and to finish a trio of flowers, one in So Saffron with a pearl centre, and two that I stamped in So Saffron on Whisper White with the flower stamp from the 'Something to Say' stamp set and punched out with the co-ordinating Itty Bitty Accents punch.

I love the look and feel of this card - it's so fresh and says that Spring is on the way. I haven't used my bird punch in ages but this little fella looks quite at home sat on his burlap wreath. This would also make a nice Easter or Birthday card, with a change of sentiment.

Back tomorrow with another double-post day and some exciting news too! Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Crazy About You Photopolymer Stamp Set	Bird Punch	Something To Say Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Paper-Piercing Tool
Stampin' Pierce Mat	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock
Card Stock A4 Pistachio Pudding	So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad	So Saffron A4 Card Stock	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents	1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon

It's Sunday and you know what that means - a new challenge over at The Paper Players. This week the lovely Laurie has a fun theme to help us shake off our Winter blues:

When I 'think Spring' I immediately think of spring pastels and flowers in bloom, so the obvious choice for my card today was one of my favourite pieces of DSP from the All Abloom DSP stack:

I love the pretty little flowers on this particular paper and wanted to showcase as much of the paper as possible. I decided it would make a great background layer for a shaker-style open window featuring some cute little die cut flowerpots that I cut from kraft and co-ordinating coloured cardstock using my Handpicked Framelit Dies. I finished one of the flowerpots with a tiny Blushing Bride baker's twine bow and used one of the Bitty Banner framelits to cut out the sentiment stamped from the 'From The Garden' stamp set and accented this with a couple of Daffodil Delight candy dots.

Before you reach for your ink pads, do visit the other design team members to see what interesting ideas they've had this week:

I look forward to seeing your visions of Springtime in our gallery this week. 

Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	From The Garden Photopolymer Bundle	Bitty Banners Framelits Die	Big Shot Magnetic Platform	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Pistachio Pudding	Brights Candy Dots
Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Card Stock A4 Strawberry Slush	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride	Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock	Blushing Bride Baker's Twine

I know I've been MIA for a few days - last week was one of the busiest in the James household, with music recitals, discos, school productions and carol concerts galore with the end of the school term, so blogging did go somewhat by the wayside. I spent the morning at the pantomime watching 'The Wizard of Oz' and this afternoon managed to squeeze in a little creative time to craft the following card for this week's sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches, although I'm too late to link up this week:

I wanted to create a card using a piece of the All Abloom DSP stack - there are some great bold floral patterns in there that suit such a large background. Here is my card: 

I used a sentiment from the 'Hello There' hostess set on the main panel and overlaid a single flower from the same set, along with some retired Island Indigo baker's twine and a single pearl to finish.

So a quick post from me today with a card for all you lovely readers who pop by and comment and bear with me when the odd blog post goes awry - so sweet of you! We are officially on school holidays now - I'm not sure whether that means more or less time to craft though (I know really - definitely less!!) Back soon with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Hello There Clear-Mount Stamp Set	All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Island Indigo Classic Stampin' Pad	Island Indigo A4 Card Stock
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock	Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Pad	Whisper White A4 Card Stock

Wednesday already? This week is zipping by! Today I'm sharing my card for this week's challenge over at Colour Me...! where we have a monochromatic colour palette to work with:

Daffodil Delight yellow - a favourite of mine! - and white. I used this week's sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch for my layout and this is what I came up with:

A simple card where the feature is this lovely piece of Daffodil Yellow DSP from the All Abloom DSP paper stack (the little white spots remind me of bubbles!). I overlaid this with my angled panel of Whisper White, having used my Big Shot and Baby's First framelits to cut out the duck shape to allow the DSP to peek through. I finished the duck with a simple white baker's twine bow before adding my Bitty Banner 'Sweet Baby' sentiment on dimensionals for added height.

A great 'welcome baby' card that is the perfect store cupboard standby as it would be suitable for a boy or a girl - I'm also linking up with SUO Challenges as it fits nicely with their 'clean and simple' theme. Why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Whisper White A4 Card Stock	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine	Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad	Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock
Baby's First Framelits Die	White Baker's Twine	Bitty Banners Framelits Die	Itty Bitty Banners Clear-Mount Stamp Set

It's Wednesday so time for the challenge over at Colour Me...! where this week we have a subtle palette to work with:

This week I have another Sea Street card for you! These pinky-peach tones reminded me of lobsters and I had a piece of the Lost Lagoon wavy paper from the All Abloom stack sat on my desk leftover from another project, so I decided to go with an idea that I've had floating around in my head for a while! Here's today's card:

Using a base of Lost Lagoon, I adhered a couple of strips of the wavy paper from the All Abloom DSP paper stack to give the feeling of the sea, then created a mat using Burlap ribbon - I used three pieces, removed the side stitching and frayed the edge. I then took a pieces of Naturals Ivory cardstock and using my stamp-a-ma-jig, lined up 8 lobsters stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe in a grid shape. I stamped the ninth lobster in Calypso Coral, punch him out using the small oval punch them adhered him onto my card upside down, using a dimensional. I finished the panel with the sentiment 'Be unique' and a vintage button threaded with some linen twine, in keeping with my beach/rustic feel. Again, using my Alphabet Rotary stamp, I finished this sentiment on the inside of my card, as you can see below:

I made this card with Rebecca in mind; she will be back at school shortly and as children go, she is the ultimate conformist. I sometimes need to remind her that it's ok to be different and she should be confident to step away from the crowd at times, that uniqueness is something to be celebrated. I just love the Alphabet Rotary stamp for these kinds of one-off messages - so easy! I'm finding it really useful with my Project Life documenting too.

I hope you like my fun card this week - why not visit the other Colour Me...! designers and check out their takes on this week's colour combination:

All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock	Sea Street Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad	Lost Lagoon A4 Cardstock
Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad	Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad	Alphabet Rotary Stamp	1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon	Linen Thread
Very Vintage Designer Buttons	Small Oval Punch

Today I'm sharing another of the cards we made at our quarterly training session last month, designed by Monica Gale. Yes, it is a Christmas card, but with the exception of the sentiment, uses products that can all be purchased from the Annual Catalogue. Here is the card we made:

Using Mossy Meadow for the card base, we then cut a piece of kraft cardstock, embossed with the dots embossing folder and lightly wiped with white kraft ink to give the impression of snow. We cut a piece of Naturals Ivory cardstock and punched the edge with the scallop punch, then layered a couple of pieces of DSP from the All Abloom DSP stack on top. Real Red cotton ribbon was wrapped around this section and tied in a bow across the join, and a few green stems punched from the bird punch tucked in around the bow before adhering the bird on top, along with a trio of tiny pearls: the bird is from the 'Choose Happiness' stamp set and is stamped in Real Red on naturals Ivory and fussy cut. Lastly, the sentiment was stamped in Real Red onto Naturals Ivory and punched out with the Decorative Label punch, and adhered using dimensionals. 

This sentiment is from the set 'Christmas Messages', which is one of the sets that is available on the Autumn/Winter carryover list until August 27th. Full details of all items on the carryover list can be found in the box on the right-hand side of my blog page and they can be purchased either by clicking directly on the links in the product table below or by clicking the 'shop online' icon that will take you directly to my online store, or of course you can email me or give me a call if you prefer and I can take your order over the phone.

That's me done for today; back tomorrow with a new set of Wednesday Weekly Deals and my Design Team card for this week's Colour Me...! challenge. until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Choose Happiness Clear-Mount Stamp Set	Christmas Messages Clear-Mount Stamp Set	All Abloom Designer Series Paper Stack	Mossy Meadow A4 Cardstock	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad
Naturals Ivory A4 Card Stock	Real Red 1/4" Cotton Ribbon	Basic Pearls Jewel Accents	Scallop Edge Border Punch	Bird Punch
Decorative Label Punch	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad	Kraft 12" X 12" Card Stock